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Science & Mathematics

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

This ten-key printing adding machine has a cast-iron frame painted black, with ten black plastic numeral keys across the front (two of these keys are missing) and nine red and white plastic unmarked order keys behind these. There is a large metal key on the left side, and a key stem (without cover) below. The paper tape holder is behind the keys (there is no paper tape), the printing mechanism behind it, and the adding mechanism behind this. Missing front and two sides, crank, three key covers, ribbon. The machine has serial number 6044. It was transferred to the Smithsonian from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

This key-driven, non-printing adding machine is an early example of a Comptometer with a metal case.

It has eight columns of plastickeys. The keys in the two rightmost columns, which represent cents, are white, the three middle columns are black, and the three lftmost columns are white. Such color coding was common in machines designed for financial calculations. Complementary numbers are indicated. The keys are alternately concave (for odd digits) and flat (for even digits). The keys are worn, and one is missing. The key stems are flat, and become progressively longer as the digits become larger. The subtraction levers are at the same level as the decimal markers.

The nine numeral wheels are white or turquoise around the rim, depending on the decimal place of the digit indicated. They are visible through windows in the glass. The zeroing handle is on the left. The Model A Comptometer was Felt & Tarrant’s first “duplex” machine, in that it would add in more than one column at a time, each column having the capacity to add, receive, and carry simultaneously. This was not true of the earlier wooden box models.

The first Model A Comptometer was produced in January 1904 and had serial number 15000. Over 6,200 machines were produced in the next two years. This machine has serial number 17536, which is marked in the center front. It has a metal tag screwed to the top that reads in part: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK. There are ten patent dates on this tag.

This machine came to the Smithsonian in 1981 from the collection of Esther S. and James C. Henderson, who ran an office equipment business in Corvallis, Washington.

The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumber yard in Kensett, Iowa.

This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by bronze-colored metal covers that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position.

Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted. The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. There is no carry mechanism. The base of is covered with green cloth.

The instrument is marked on the right cover: C. E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It also is marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It also is marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901 (/) JAN. 3 1905. This example came to the Smithsonian from the collection of L. Leland Locke.

The instrument resembles MA*323619, but it has green rather than red cloth on the bottom and has no surrounding wooden box. Also compare to MA*321327.

In 1875 Frank S. Baldwin of St. Louis patented a pinwheel calculating machine. He manufactured a few of these machines, but they did not sell well. Baldwin went on to take out a number of other patents. By 1901 he had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he designed an improved pinwheel machine. He obtained a patent the following year. This is an early example of that machine.

The lever-set, non-printing machine has eight rings at the front that rotate forward to release pins and enter numbers. A zeroing bar for the rings is at the front, and an operating crank to the right. The crank turns clockwise for addition and multiplication and counterclockwise for subtraction and division. Behind the rings is a movable carriage with a row of 16 result windows and, behind this, a second row of nine windows for the revolution register. Both these registers have zeroing cranks. Both also have a thin metal rod below them that moves to serve as a decimal marker.

Pulling forward a lever on the left allows one to shift the carriage. A bell rings when the result changes sign (negative to positive or positive to negative). The entire machine sits in a wooden case with a missing lid.

This ten-key non-printing manually operated adding machine has a steel and iron frame. The ten digit keys are arranged in two columns on the left side. Two rows of nine keys across the top indicate the place number of the digit entered. The front row is for addition and the other is for subtraction. To enter a number, both the digit key and the place key were depressed. Numbers through 9,999,999 can be indicated. The metal keys have plastic and paper key tops. The space under the keyboard is covered with green velvet. The result is indicated on a row of red number wheels below these two rows of keys. The machine is stored in a small black suitcase covered with leather, lined with cloth, and provided with a metal handle on top.

Compare to U.S. patent 815,542, dated March 20, 1906. Other Levin patents are 706,000, July 29, 1902,and 727,392, May 5, 1903.

Judah Levin, the inventor of this adding machine, was an Orthodox rabbi in Detroit.

This German stepped drum, manually operated, non-printing calculating machine has a brass top painted black and a brass and steel mechanism that fit snugly in a wooden case. Ten German silver levers are moved to set numbers. The operating crank is right of the levers, and an addition & multiplication / subtraction & division lever is to their left. The operating crank folds down so that the lid closes. At the left is a compartment with a slate cover that holds a key and a small box of spare parts. The machine has space for an inkwell, but no inkwell is present.

Behind the levers is a carriage with a ten-window revolution register and a 20-window result register. Both registers have thumbscrews for setting numbers. Each window of the revolution register shows the digits from 0 to 9 in black and from 1 to 8 in red. A knob on the right side of the machine clears the revolution register and another knob on the left side clears the result register. When these knobs are in use, brass bars extend out the sides of the carriage. Holes for decimal markers are between the levers and between the windows of the registers, but the machine has no decimal markers. A bell sounds when the crank has been turned too often in subtraction so that a negative number results. It is intended especially for use in division.

Instructions for operating the machine are glued to the inside of the lid. A piece of wood hinged to the back of the machine allows it to be held at an angle. One may slide over a panel in the bottom of the case to reveal the stepped drums. A key fits the lock in the case.

A mark on the top of the lid and on the center front of the machine reads: BURKHARDT (/) ARITHMOMETER. Another mark on the center front reads: Keuffel & Esser Co. (/) New York (/) Sole Agents. A mark to the left of this reads: GERMANY. The zeroing knobs on the carriage have the patent number: D.R.G.M. No78251. The National Bureau of Standards inventory number stamped on the right edge of the case is 1624 N.B.S. The back right edge of the carriage is marked: 5. This is the usual location of serial numbers for Burkhardt arithmometers, but does not jibe well with other serial numbers of machines in the collections.

Compare MA*313158, MA*313519, MA*323624 and MA*323597.

The date of 1903 is assigned on the basis of the accession file.

References:

Keuffel & Esser, Catalog, 1899, p. 190. Here Burkhardt machines are offered in 3 sizes (6x7x12, 8x9x16 & 10x11x20) at three prices ($193.25, $241.50, $338.25). This machine is the third type. The machine is not shown in the 1892 Keuffel & Esser catalog. By 1906, K&E was selling the Peerless calculating machine instead.

This lever-set, non-printing, and manually operated pinwheel calculating machine has a metal housing painted black, a brass and steel mechanism, and nine levers for entering numbers. A steel crank with a wooden handle that extends from the right side of the machine rotates backward (clockwise) for addition and multiplication, and forward (counterclockwise) for subtraction and division.

A movable carriage at the front of the machine has 13 windows that show dials of the result register on the right, and eight windows for the revolution register on the left. The revolution register has no carry. The digits on the revolution register dial are white for additions and red for subtractions. Holes for decimal markers between digits of the result and revolution registers presently have no markers. Depressing a lever at the front of the machine releases the carriage for shifting. To zero the registers, one rotates wing nuts at the ends of the carriage. The left end of the carriage carries a bell.

A mark on the front of the machine reads: BRUNSVIGA. A second mark there reads: No 4644. A third mark (part of the Brunsviga trademark) is: G.N.& C.C.a.A. A mark on the left side of the machine reads: Grimme, Natalis & Co.(/) Braunschweig - Brunswick (/) System W.T. Odhner. It includes a list of patents from Germany (64925), Belgium (91812), England (13700). Austria (45538), Hungary (69363); Switzerland (4578), and France (301119 and 303744). The United States is also listed, but no patent date is given. A fifth mark, on a property sticker attached to the back of the carriage reads: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (/) 10248-WB-Z.

The case has a wooden base and a metal lid painted black, with a leather handle and a place for a lock at the front. A cloth bag with small loose parts is stored with the machine.

The Weather Bureau of the United States Department of Commerce transferred this machine to the Smithsonian in 1958.

The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumberyard in Kensett, Iowa.

This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by bronze-colored metal covers that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position.

Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted. The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. There is no carry mechanism. The base of it is covered with green cloth.

The instrument is marked on the right cover: C.E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It is also marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It is also marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901 (/) JAN. 3 1905. The instrument fits in a cardboard case covered with black cloth.

According to the donor, the example of the Locke adder was given to him by the retiring operator of a country milk receiving station for a dairy. The operator used it to determine the total number of pounds of milk received each day at the station.

This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal and glass case, with the metal painted black. The keyboard is covered with green felt. There are nine columns of black and white color-coded plastic number keys, with a red clearance key at the bottom of each column. Two of the clearance keys are missing. The key stems for the number keys are bent to ensure that the keys form columns. A button on the left clears the entire keyboard. There is also a lever to the right of the keyboard. When it is shifted up, the keyboard automatically zeros after addition. When it is shifted down, the keyboard remains set after an addition, so that the lever also serves as a repeat key. A crank in the right side of the machine drives it. Behind the keyboard are nine white numeral dials that show the result through glass windows in the case. When the repeat lever is shifted up, the clearance button is depressed and the operating crank is brought forward, and the total decreases (it seems likely that this is supposed to zero the adding wheels).

At the top of the machine is a printing mechanism, with a two-colored ribbon. The carriage is 33 cm. wide, 46 cm. with the handles. The eight platen positions are set manually by release levers at the top. This is a blind printing machine, with the paper or paper tape emerging at the top so that it is visible to the operator. It has a two-color ribbon. A bell on the carriage handle rings when one approaches the bottom of a piece of paper.

The machine is marked at the front: UNIVERSAL (/) ACCOUNTANT MACHINE CO. (/) St. LOUIS, MO. (/) PAT.APR.20,1897, PAT.NOV.28, 1899, PAT.JULY 24, 1900 (/) PATENTS APPLIED FOR. It is marked behind the keyboard, over the result dials: Universal. It is marked on paper behind the carriage: No UAM (/) CO 5.

Universal Accountant Machine Company was organized by 1898 and purchased by Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1908. The model originally sold for $300, with electric drive $75 extra. It was introduced in about 1905. Burroughs discontinued production of the machine.

References:

J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 544.

This relatively early example of a Burroughs full-keyboard printing manually operated adding machine was collected by the rival firm of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.

The machine has a ferrous metal frame painted black, with glass sides that reveal the metal mechanism. This mechanism includes a dashpot, a device for cushioning a movement to avoid shock.. There are nine columns of color-coded black and white plastic keys, with two black keys for cents, three white keys for dollars to 999 dollars, three black keys for thousands through 999,000 dollars, and a ninth, leftmost column for millions of dollars. The metal total key is left of the keyboard, and metal error and repeat keys are right of the number keys. The keyboard is covered with green felt. The machine is operated by bringing forward a metal crank with a wooden handle that is on the right side.

The printing mechanism is at the back of the machine. The carriage is 10 1/4" (26 cm.) wide, and the results printed are not visible to the operator. This carriage can be set in six different positions. It has a pinch roller release to adjust a single sheet of paper, as well as adjustable paper guides. An adjustable release is on the left side at the back. A smaller carriage for rolls of paper 3 1/2” wide. A saw-toothed edge allows one to tear off part of the roll of paper. A row of nine number dials at the front of the machine, inside the case, shows the running total. This machine lacks a paper tape, apparently has no ribbon, and is missing a portion of the glass on the right side.

The Class 1, Style 3 differs from the other Burroughs Registering Accountant received from the collections of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company in having a wide movable carriage, separate error and repeat keys, and a register showing running totals at the bottom front of the machine. Compare MA*323592.

Reference:

J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 523.